The "Palace VR: The Forbidden City - The Palace of Emperors" virtual reality (VR*1) production (Production and copyright: The Palace Museum / Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.) will be shown from Friday August 7 to Sunday September 27 at the TNM & TOPPAN Museum Theater jointly established by The National Institutes for Cultural Heritage Tokyo National Museum (hereafter Tokyo National Museum; Taito-ku, Tokyo; Executive Director: Teiichi Sato) and Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. (hereafter Toppan Printing; Head office: Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo; President & CEO: Naoki Adachi) in the Museum’s Research and Information Center.

Since 2000, Toppan Printing and the Palace Museum have been engaged in a project to promote the preservation and display of the Forbidden City’s cultural assets through the application of digital technology. This VR production was created as a part of the project. The Forbidden City of the Qing Dynasty, its buildings, and the inside of the rooms used for the Emperors’ affairs of state have been recreated and can be toured in virtual reality. This will be the first time that this production is shown at the museum theater and a scenario with explanation of cultural assets will be provided for visitors to the Tokyo National Museum. It will be possible to view in even greater detail the decorations and cultural assets that adorn the largest and most important part of the Forbidden City, The Hall of Supreme Harmony(Tai He Dian).

The Forbidden City
The Forbidden City is also known in Chinese as "the former palace", meaning the palace of the past. At the same time as being the residence of Chinese Emperors in the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was the center of politics, economics and culture. During those periods it was called the "Forbidden City" and ordinary people were forbidden to enter it. Today it is registered as World Heritage as the "Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang". In the vast 780,000 square meter space are palaces that symbolize the view of the world with the Emperor at its center. However, from the perspective of preservation and management, currently only a third of the palace is open to the public and the details of the interiors cannot be seen.

The world created by the "Palace VR: The Forbidden City - The Palace of Emperors"
The Forbidden City was the center of China’s politics, economics and culture for around 500 years spanning the Ming and Qing dynasties. From the roughly 700 buildings inside the palace, this VR production presents the central and most venerated "Hall of Supreme Harmony".

Features of the production
1) A virtual reality tour of the world of Beijing’s Forbidden City
The magnificent architecture of the Forbidden City’s most important building "The Hall of Supreme Harmony" and a worldview that represents traditional Chinese thinking
2) The Forbidden City during its most glorious period
A recreation of the Forbidden City during the height of prosperity in the Qing dynasty. With VR technology, it is possible to closely view the beautiful colors and cultural assets in areas that cannot be visited in general sightseeing.

With a restructured scenario for visitors to the Tokyo National Museum, it is possible to see the architecture of the "Hall of Supreme Harmony" that symbolizes the authority of the Emperor, and to view in detail the Emperor’s throne and items including the cultural assets that surround it.

The TNM & TOPPAN Museum Theater
The TNM & TOPPAN Museum Theater was established on November 2, 2007 by the Tokyo National Museum and Toppan Printing in the Museum’s Research and Information Center and presents important cultural assets and cultural heritage through a variety of means using cutting-edge digital technology. Ultra-high definition images with around 4 times the resolution of full high-vision are projected onto a 240 inch screen. Sites that cannot usually be visited easily are digitally recreated or restored for screening at the theater and visitors can experience a sense of actually being at the sites themselves with navigators providing an easy-to-understand explanation.

Theater specifications
-VR image projection by 4K*2 projectors
-240 inch screen (width approx. 5m / height approx. 3m)
-Seating capacity 30

Information
-Screenings: Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays
-This production screened from Friday August 7 to Sunday September 27, 2009
-Times: 10:00/11:00/12:00/14:00/15:00/16:00
*Reservations to be made on the day.
-Theater reception: 1F Entrance Hall, Honkan
-Admission fees: No charge (Entrance fee to the Tokyo National Museum must be paid)
-Homepage: http://www.toppan-vr.jp/mt/
-Inquiries: 03-5777-8600 (Hello Dial information service)

*1 VR (Virtual Reality)
Virtual Reality allows viewers to move freely within a 3D computer graphic image created with high-definition 3D data (shape, texture, light, etc.) that creates the environment and technology that generates the image from the data in real time in response to the navigator’s operation. Viewers can experience a sense of being in the 3D space itself. Through use of a large screen to display the high-resolution image that is created, viewers can experience an even greater sense of immersion in the space.

*2 4K
4K is a format advocated by DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives, LLC), a digital cinema standardization organization led by 7 leading U.S. motion picture companies. It is a resolution of 8.85 million pixels (4096�~2160 pixels, 4K�~2K), more than 4 times that of full high-vision.